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Tanaka
|image = |kanji = 田中 |rōmaji = Tanaka |alias = |species = Human |gender = Male |age = |height = |weight = |birthday = |affiliation = |previous affiliation = |occupation = House Steward of the Phantomhive household |previous occupation = Butler of the Phantomhive household |base of operations = Phantomhive Manor |status = Alive |relatives = |manga debut = Volume 1, Chapter 1 |anime debut = Episode 1 |video game debut = Kuroshitsuji: Phantom & Ghost |japanese voice = Shunji Fujimura |english voice = Robert Bruce Elliott }} Tanaka (田中, Tanaka) is the house steward, an old family friend, and a loyal assistant of the Phantomhive household. Appearance Tanaka is an elderly man with grey hair and a mustache. He wears a monocle, a sophisticated suit, white gloves, and is almost always holding a cup of tea. His body dimensions are generally portrayed shorter and smaller than they are in actuality. In dire or critical situations, he is depicted in his full height. Personality Tanaka is an intelligent, knowledgeable, and capable person. As a former butler of the Phantomhive household, he had served under Vincent Phantomhive, but he was injured in the past''Kuroshitsuji'' manga; Chapter 62, page 12 and presently does little work. He usually spends most of his time running around with Baldroy, Finnian, and Mey-Rin. Nevertheless, he is highly respected by others, such as Sebastian Michaelis and Francis Midford; in fact, the latter of which had once encouraged Sebastian and Ciel Phantomhive to take a lesson from Tanaka regarding their appearances.Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 14, page 10 In addition, he is kind and loyal to Ciel, his guests, and the other servants. Although he typically goes along with the others' plans, he wields great authority himself, and he is the figurehead and executive director of the Funtom Company.Kuroshitsuji anime; Episode 9 Despite his age, he remains strong, as shown when he effortlessly subdued a man who attempted to harm Ciel.Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 43, pages 22-23 In grave times when he is needed to temporarily assume the position of a butler once again, Tanaka performs his duties promptly and proficiently. He has a wealth of experience at his disposal.Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 42, pages 13-14 He is calm and stern, and he will admonish Ciel if he finds that Ciel is displaying weakness as the head of the Phantomhive family.Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 42, page 15 He often puts Ciel's health and well-being as his premier concern.Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 93, page 2 History in relief.]] Tanaka was present when Ciel Phantomhive's family was murdered, and he had attempted to warn Ciel to escape. In doing so, an unseen attacker stabbed him from behind, severely injuring him.Kuroshitsuji manga, Chapter 19, page 6 He was treated at the Royal Hospital where Angelina Dalles worked. Ciel and Sebastian went to him, and Tanaka was amazed that Ciel was still alive. He then gave Sebastian his pocket watch, which he said has been passed down from one Phantomhive butler to the next.Kuroshitsuji manga, Chapter 62, pages 12-14 Plot Anime's Synopsis Quotes * (To Ciel Phantomhive) "The head of the Phantomhive house should not be shaken by something as trivial as the death of a servant. I never once saw the Master lose his composure due to such trifles."Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 42, page 15 * (To Karl Woodley) "If someone means any harm against the Young Master in this mansion, no matter who they are, these servants will have no mercy on them."Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 43, pages 23-24 * (To Sebastian Michaelis) "The Phantomhive family butler is not allowed to breathe his last breath before his master."Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 50, page 33 * (To Snake) "Worrying about your master isn't a butler's only duty. As a butler . . . you have to make sure your master returns to a perfect situation."Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 91, page 20 * (To Sebastian Michaelis, about Ciel Phantomhive) "Rest is best for wounds of the heart. The Young Master must be in turmoil. At times like these we should not lose our heads or rush things. We need to watch over him."Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 93, page 2 * (To Finnian, as he tells him to escape with Sieglinde) "Finny, go ahead. Let this old man take care of her. We will carry out any order our master gives us. That is the policy... of the Phantomhive servants!"Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 100, page 32 Trivia * According to [[The Butler, Casting a Vote|the official Kuroshitsuji's character popularity poll]], Tanaka is the twelfth most popular character in the series, with 156 votes.June 2015 Issue of Square Enix's GFantasy Magazine * There is a running gag in the anime that Tanaka only has a certain amount of time in his "regular style" before he returns to his smaller size. When he returns to his smaller version, there tends to be a lot of steam, like air coming out of a balloon. Then, a character, frequently Finnian or Mey-Rin, will exclaim that his "time" ran out. Kuroshitsuji anime, Episode 1 * His name, Tanaka, is Japanese and means "(dweller in the) middle of rice fields."Behind the Name ‒ Tanaka *The "baritsu" Tanaka displays when he protects Ciel from Karl WoodleyKuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 43, pages 22 - 23 may be a reference to the form of martial arts popularized by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in The Return of Sherlock Holmes.Wikipedia:Baritsu It is, additionally, a certain misspelling of bartitsu, which existed in Great Britain around the time Doyle's works were being written. Tanaka in recent chapters is shown to be skilled in using a katana. * Tanaka's favorite tea is Gyokuro.Kuroshitsuji Character Guide, page 35 * In early drafts, Tanaka had visibly thicker hair.Kuroshitsuji Character Guide, page 109 References Navigation ru:Танака de:Tanaka pl:Tanaka Category:Characters Category:Phantomhive Household Category:Kidnapping Arc Category:Curry Contest Arc Category:Noah's Ark Circus Arc Category:Phantomhive Manor Murders Arc Category:Ship Voyage Arc Category:Public School Arc Category:Emerald Witch Arc Category:Houndsworth Arc Category:Conspiracy and Revenge Arc Category:Kuroshitsuji II